WMS Wednesday Weekly - June 22, 2022

WEDNESDAY WEEKLY

June 22, 2022

Outdoors at WMS: Camp & Construction

School is out for the summer, and Camp Montessori is off to a great start! Visions of summer camp almost always include exploring the outdoors. WMS has a great deal of outdoor space - some of which you see as you drive your children to school and more that lies in the woods beyond the soccer field. Campers hike through the woods to Windybush Pool a few times each week and spend time outdoors playing, exploring and enjoying the benefits of being outdoors, rain or shine. During the school year, students are often exploring the woods, performing on the outdoor stage, and even writing about what they are experiencing by spending time in nature.

In addition to the wooded part of the property, WMS has a few spaces dedicated to time outdoors such as the Peace Park, playgrounds and the areas outside of classrooms. This summer, we are creating a multi-use space that will be used as an outdoor classroom and gathering space, connecting the Great Room to Learning Commons. We are looking forward to expanding the use of our outdoor space and extending our elementary and middle school classrooms to include the use of this new area. A patio will be installed, along with a wall that provides additional seating. This project will take place over the next several weeks, with the final stages of planting occurring during the cooler weather in September. The highlight of this project for the campers is the machinery needed to prepare the space. The highlight for the community will be a more usable outdoor space for lessons, community gatherings, and catching up with each other as your children return to school this fall.

If you’re driving by WMS this summer, please take a moment to stop and see the work in progress. For those of you who have construction-loving children, feel free to step up to the fencing and take a closer look! We look forward to enjoying even more time in nature with our entire community in this expanded outdoor area.

Lisa A. Lalama

Head of School

NEWS & NOTES

Progress Reports

Progress reports for 2021-22 school year families will be mailed by the end of this week! If you do not receive yours by the end of next week, please contact us!

Camp Communications

Camp Emergency Alert System System Test - Tomorrow at 7 p.m.

We will be running a test of Camp Montessori's emergency alert system on Thursday, June 23, at 7 p.m. The Blackboard Connect system is used to send urgent updates to families and staff in the case of an unexpected closing or emergency that requires immediate response. All families who are registered for camp this summer should receive phone messages, texts and email alerts during the test. After this test, if you would like to add additional email addresses or phone numbers to your notifications, please email alert@wmsde.org with the contact information you would like to add. Thank you!

Bloomz

Bloomz is our primary method of summer camp communications this year! If you have not registered for a Bloomz account yet, please contact Noel Dietrich, Director of Advancement & Communications, for assistance.

Camp Carline Reminders

As we shared last week, our carline procedures have had to shift due to construction in front of the school. These changes do not impact Turtles families (unless they have an older sibling).

Information for Pandas, Kangaroos, Tigers and Meerkats Families

Change in entrance: Our camp staff is now stationed at the door to our Learning Commons (immediately next to the front entrance) to receive your children (rather than at the Great Room door). Campers also exit from this door.
Please continue to pull up along the sidewalk at the front of the school as you have been. Wait in your vehicle for a staff member to approach and receive your child.
Have your child ready to leave the vehicle when a staff member approaches.
Please note that the area used for carline is a fire lane and should not be used for parking. If you need to enter the building, please move out of the carline once you are able to safely do so, and find a parking space.
For the safety of our campers, please travel slowly through the parking lot and do not reverse or pull in front of another vehicle in the line unless a staff member asks you to do so.

If you have a child in the Turtles Program, along with a child in the preschool or elementary group, please continue to drop off your younger child at the Toddler Entrance (at all times of day) and your older child at Learning Commons entrance. If you pick up your children at normal dismissal time, you may go to the Toddler Entrance and a staff member will escort your older child to that door so you do not have to enter both carlines.

Thank you for helping our carlines move safely and quickly! If you have any questions, please contact camp @wmsde.org!

CAMP SPOTLIGHT:

TURTLES (TODDLER) PROGRAM

For campers in the Turtles (toddler-age) Program, summer is all about new experiences including the exploration of redesigned classroom spaces, woods walks, water play, new friends (both children and adults) and a more relaxed schedule.

Although summer camp is intended to be a change of pace from the school year, routine also remains important for this age group, and classrooms follow a schedule similar to the school year, incorporating favorite activities and traditions like the Montessori birth and life celebration.

Campers who attended WMS during the school year are enjoying spending time with old friends and serving as leaders as they welcome new campers to their community!

The Wednesday Weekly shares WMS news and events that are relevant to the families in our community.

Please send submissions to wednesday-weekly@wmsde.org by 4:30 p.m. on the Friday prior to the issue in which you wish to include your information. Content may be edited for length and style and may be held for a future issue due to space constraints.

For more information, contact Noel Dietrich, Director of Advancement & Communications.